


H. Sin

by Greywintergem



Category: Angel: the Series
Genre: Demon, Gay, Gay OC, Hell, Magic, Portal - Freeform, Possession, Vessel, hella gay, los angelos, powers that be - Freeform, vampire, ”succubus”
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-10 07:22:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14732486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greywintergem/pseuds/Greywintergem
Summary: There’s a mystery brewing inside the interworks of Los Angeles. Anyone stupid enough to be caught in the middle of the night alone are going missing. Several of the missing people have families that were concerned enough to turn to a private investigation company. That being Angel Investigations.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This contains strong language.

The week had started off normal. Like it usually always did. Normal as in coffee in the morning and two more cups after lunch before going to Zumba and burning off the half assed microwaved Ramen noodle lunch consumed with a bowl of day old gummies bears left by a boyfriend who's never around anymore. But like the movies, normal didn't last long. Not long at all. 

“Mr. DeClave? Your brother says he's on the line. It's urgent.” I don't have a brother. “Please, he's shouting profanities and sounds like he's choking.” 

I rushed over to the phone and clicked the button and held the phone up to my ear. With a shaky voice, “Hello?” 

“Oh thank god. You're one hard person to get a hold of, Mr. DeClave” My heart stopped. The voice on the other end had a distinct British accent that definitely wasn't common in this part of LA. Unless you counted the hundreds of thousands of actors and actresses that travelled here from their home island. 

“How do you know my name? I don't have a brother.” The voice chuckled and spoke carefully into their mic. 

“Listen here, Mr. DeClave. You're in terrible danger and I’d advise you to follow the man in the dark leather trench coat when he comes to get you. He’ll protect you. Right now there are two people in that diner who wish to get a hold of you. If you don't take my advice, I wouldn't be surprised to find you in a ditch somewhere.” I held my breath until he was finished. The bell by the front door rang just as a guy in a leather trench coat walked in. I glanced past the red counter to a woman who was fiddling with a steak knife after hardly touching the food she ordered almost five minutes after I walked in. The man that was sitting in the booth behind her was staring at me intently. 

“What do you want me to do?” I swallowed hard as my hands shook. 

“Follow him. He will keep you safe.” I turned to look at the man who walked in. He wasn't bad looking. “Stefan, trust him.” I nodded slightly without even realizing. 

“Okay.” I plop the phone back onto its place on the wall and slowly take a few steps backward. I'm shaking uncontrollably and swearing beyond belief. What could these people possibly want from me? I don't have any money. That's why I came here to this particular diner. The owner knew me and frankly she owed me a hot meal to begin with so there was no harm in coming here. I just don't understand what they want. 

“Mr. DeClave?” I spin around almost knocking into the man in the trench coat. My head spun sporadically in a dizzy spell. 

“Y-yeah? You're the… the guy?” He shrugged and nodded modestly. “O-okay. What the hell is goin on, man?” 

He gently took my shoulder into his hand and led me outside to the parking lot. “Not here.” I kept my mouth shut after that. He wouldn't stop looking around as if we were being followed. “Here, get in.” It was a black car. I couldn't tell what model it was but it was clearly an older version. Though it looked practically brand new. “Mr. DeClave, get in.” I jumped at the urgency in his voice. 

“Okay.” I complied and hoped this wasn't a set up to get me killed. I didn't fancy the idea of dying. Neither did anyone I guess. Bystanders in the diner were giving me weird glances. So I just sucked in my gut and got into the black convertible. It wasn't as cushiony as it looked. I couldn't complain though.

The two people I had suspected to be the ones the guy over the phone was talking about suddenly bolted out of the diner and towards the car. “Buckle up.” 

“Huh?” I was too distracted by the insane looking people to give a shit about a seat belt. But I should've done as I was told because before I could even comprehend what was happening, we were speeding out of the parking lot into the night. “JESUS!” I frantically pulled the seat belt around me and clicked it into place so that I didn't have to worry about flying out of my seat. 

“Hold on to something.” What? WHAT IS THERE TO HOLD ONTO?! I searched quickly for something to grab but all I could find was the seat itself. “Brace yourself!” I watched as he rammed right through a crowd of people standing around in an ominous looking circle. 

“Holy SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?” I glanced back over at him with wide terrified eyes and saw him smirking with the most excited glint in his eye. I held my breath while holding desperately onto something that wasn't going to break off if I held too hard. He was enjoying this. Or at least it seemed like he was. 

“Do you like bowling, Mr. DeClave?” 

“What?!” 

“Cause we’re about to get a strike.” Just as he finished speaking, he plowed his car into a crowd of people. A person flopped over the windshield and onto my lap. Needless to say, I shrieked. The person suddenly gathered themselves and glared menacingly at me. They started to reach out with one of their hands and laugh maniacally. I pushed them away from me but their fingers still connected with my forehead. “Don't let her touch you!” It was too late now. I gasped out as her cold fingers pressed deep into my skull. “Fight her!” 

I was trying to wrap my head around the situation. But then a hot burning sensation engulfed my entire body and could no longer move as the world spun around me. I stared deep into her eyes and began to pull her arms away from my head. Somehow I was overpowering her. With a final battle cry I punched her in the jaw and watched as she tumbled out the car. The guy was still driving recklessly. But somehow knew where he was going despite being sidetracked by four other individuals desperately clawing at the door of his car. 

“Could you not mess up the paint on my car, thank you very much.” With that he grabbed the first guy and slung him over the edge of the door and punched the other three off of his property. He flipped the one guy over so that he could see his face. Something was wrong. The guy’s eyes looked like he had stayed up past midnight and woke up at five for the past month and hadn't even seen a cup of coffee since then. “Jesus, you need some sleep, buddy. Now, tell me what it is you want with my friend other here.” The guy didn't speak. Just tried to grab at me with his hands. I stared astonished at this man for somehow being able to drive and interrogate at the same time. A symbol was imprinted on the guy’s pointer finger. I didn't notice before because I was still shocked but there it was clear as day. “What does this symbol mean?” He clutched the guy’s hand in his and waved it in front of his face repeatedly trying to get a reaction. 

“Uh that one girl touched me on the forehead with her finger. Am I gonna die?” He whipped around in his seat practically scaring the shit out of me. He let go of his hostage and started inspecting my face. I pushed the bangs out of my face so that he could get a better look in case something was wrong. 

“You're not gonna die. But I'd keep an I eye on that mark for the next few minutes.” What mark? He turned back focus on driving and sighed to himself. I still have no idea what's going on and I doubt he's gonna tell me anytime soon. This was all so confusing. Everything I thought I knew about the world has been changed in less than an hour. I thought it was supposed to take years for that to happen. I’ve been lied to this entire time. 

“You’re not gonna drop me off at my house and then leave me unattended are you?” I said with fear lacing my tongue. “I don’t want to be alone ri-“ Before I could finish my thought, a blinding pain overtook my temple. “Fuck!” My chest began to throb as I watched my fingers grow long and dark with an inky blackness that spread down my hands. I screamed out into the night as my head suddenly snapped back and the car stopped in front of what I thought was an abandoned hotel. “GAaaHH- please,” I spit onto the pavement an acidic tar from the depths of my soul, “what’s happening to me?!” I hunched over accidentally opening the door and falling to the ground. I hugged my stomach wishing the agony would go away. 

“Mr. DeClave, I need you to fight this as best you can. Don’t let it consume you.” 

“Don’t let what consume me?!” This Guy was crouched down in front of me with his hands trying to figure out what was the best way to show he was comforting me. “I don’t know what’s going on! My chest feels like it’s on fire and I don’t know what the fuck my hands are doing!” I waved my hands in front of his dumb beautiful face. I could feel the hot tears staining my cheeks. 

“I know this doesn’t make any sense now but I promise if you fight it and get inside with me, I- we can fix this. Just hold on a little longer, Mr. DeClave.” A sudden burst of rage over took my thoughts. Causing a shout to escape my throat. 

“Oh for fucks sake! Call me Stefan!” That’s what sparked anger? My name? I could tell my sudden outburst surprised the guy. My chest was killing me. “What the hell… what’s happening!” I took a deep breath and slowly rose so that I was sitting on my knees, sorta crouched but also hunched a bit. I wasn’t very comfortable. Then again, how could you be comfortable with your hands shaking uncontrollably and your teeth feeling like their gonna fall out along with an almost unbearable stabbing pain like I can’t breathe in my chest. 

“Mr- Stefan, please.” He was desperate. I could hear it in his voice. “You can’t… you can’t give up and let this thing win. I know it’s got you at the throat right now and that you’re probably in the most pain you’ve ever been, but please. Get to your feet and let me get you inside.” My breaths became rapid and strangled like something was crushing my neck between their jaws. I could barely breathe. 

“Do w-what you gotta d-do, man.” I nodded in consent. “Please just make this st-,” I paused as if something was choking me. “GAHHH!” I grasped my shirt between my fingers. Everything seemed to fade to a deep blood red colour despite me knowing it was everything but red out here tonight. 

“Stefan. Stefan, listen to me. You’re gonna be alright. I’m going to pick you up so don’t be alarmed.” I nodded in understanding. But I must have nodded too hard because next thing I knew my eyes were rolling into the back of my head. “Stefan. Stefan, Jesus. Stefan!” That was the last thing I heard before I woke up in the middle of a weird chanting circle with the beautiful guy who was super protective of his car, a woman whom I know I recognized from somewhere, a some twig with glasses and dressing relatively like a posh gangster, and a goth girl with bright red hair. 

“What the fuck is going on?!” I bolted upright. Which was a bad idea. I immediately doubled over as the sickening tar from before violently bubbling up and out onto the sweet marble floors of this… place. “Oh god. Please tell me I just imagined all of that after getting unimaginably drunk.” 

“Mr.DeClave, you were literally out for ten minutes. If you were drunk, you’d still be drunk.” Fuck. I sighed out and laid onto my back. I brought my hands up to my face with hopes of this still being some stupid dream with a gorgeous hunk of a hero and a polite mysterious British voice over the phone. Funny thing is, I’d never seen nor heard any of these people. Except for maybe the woman I seemed to recognize. “And I for one am done with all this magic mumbo jumbo for one night. Can’t a girl get a break?” 

“Cordelia, please. We have company.” British polite mysterious phone guy thing. 

“Hey, you’re the guy who told me to follow him.” I pointed at the dumb beautiful man who seemed to be a bit shifty on his feet. Wonder what’s got him so cautious. “God, this is by far the most traumatizing experience I’ve ever had in my life. I’m gonna need at least ten months of therapy for this crap. My insurance can’t cover that.” I chuckled to myself before rolling over into my stomach and attempting to get up. 

“Stefan, I don’t think that’s a good…” I immediately fell over again from how dizzy I felt after getting to my knees. “-idea.” The Guy swooped up under me and grabbed my arm before I completely fell. He just can’t stop being a hero, can he. 

“T-thanks, man. Appreciate it.” My mind was kinda going haywire for the rest of the trip that I completely forgot what was going on. “You still haven’t told me anything, you know.” His breathy chuckle sliced through the air like smooth butter and it was by far the most gorgeous thing that has come out of his mouth in the time that I’ve known him. 

“There’ll be a time for that later. I’ll get you to a room. Here.” I nodded again and stood up fully with my arm shaking around his shoulder. I kinda feel bad calling him the guy in my head. 

“Hey, what’s your name?” He stiffened a bit as we sauntered along. 

“It’s Angel.” How fitting. I smiled to myself.


	2. Chapter 2

“Listen I appreciate everything and you guys are probably the most interesting people I’ve ever met, but I don’t belong here.” I glanced into each of their faces expecting some shred of humanity to show me they’re not completely dead… inside. 

“We’re just distributing breakfast, Mr. DeClave. Do you prefer bacon or sausage?” I turned to look at the British guy whom I still haven’t gotten the name of. He just shrugged at me before picking up his own breakfast sandwich and digging in. “Never mind, you get sausage. I’m gonna take bacon.” She pushed the yellow wrapped sandwich into my personal space bubble. 

“Cordelia.” The British guy scolded her. I kept switching who I was looking at. It was making me dizzy. After last night, I don’t think that’s a good idea. “Let him choose first.” Oh god I hate this. Why did you say that. I was perfectly fine taking the one she gave me. “Stefan?” Oh god please. Don’t…

“It’s fine. Cor- can I call you Cordy?” I asked. She rolled her eyes but nodded with less attitude. “I really don’t care which one you give me. I’ll enjoy it either way.” I smiled at her while reaching to grab the sandwich. 

“Alright. But I have to warn you, if you touch anything in the fridge without supervision, I’ll sick Angel on you.” Somehow, she convinced me she wasn’t kidding around. “I keep restocking the almond milk and somehow, I don’t even get a drop before the carton is in the trash.” I sighed and shook my head slightly. Since I’m just a guest here, there’s no reason for me to get involved with their lives besides intruding for however long they don’t mind me staying. 

“Understood. Don’t touch the milk.” I gave her a thumbs up before finally unwrapping the delicious smelling sandwich. “Hey, so what’s the deal with Angel?” It’s twelve in the afternoon and the guy is nowhere to be seen. The British guy almost spat out his drink. I think it’s tea but I can’t tell since it’s just a mug. 

“Well, what do you mean?” He asked. 

“I just… It’s half past whenever right now is and he’s not here with you guys. Does he patrol during the day too?” Everybody knows bad guys only attack at night. 

“Oh. He’s asleep.” Sweet Jesus. Sleeping Beauty fantasies have started flooding my thoughts. I tried to hide my smile. “He’s not what you would call a normal person like you or I. If you think you can handle the truth after what you experienced last night, I could fill you i-“ 

“Like hell you will! Let him find out on his own if he wants to stay here. Plus, it’ll be more fun to watch the realization hit than spoil the surprise early on.” What the hell is this fucking secret? Does he have a demon possessing him? Shoulda known his unreasonably gorgeous face was just a front for something more sinister. “Anyway, Mr. DeClave, do you have a job?” I froze. 

“Oh no.” I practically tripped on my way up the stairs to the room they were letting me stay in. “Please.” I whispered to myself. My cell phone. Where is it? 

“Looking for something?” I screeched as I abruptly turned around to face him. Angel stood there in the doorway with basically the same thing he wore last night minus the leather trench coat. I gawked at that hair though. “Sorry, I scared you. Do you need some help?” I held my racing heart. Holy fuck. 

“Uh… yeah. Um. My cell phone should be around here somewhere. I have to call in sick.” He nodded and pulled himself inside to help me tear the room apart. “You don’t think almost getting possessed counts as being sick, does it?” I made him chuckle again. 

“Sure.” I flipped over the covers on the bed and low behold I find the cell phone laying there with a red dot repeatedly flashing. “You find it?” I glanced over at him and nodded cheerfully. 

“You know, um… your friends, the British guy and Cordy, they were talking about you having some big giant secret that would probably blow the socks off my feet or explode my brain but I honestly can’t think of anything it could be. I still have no idea what’s going on. I only picked up on the demonic possession thing because of the pentagram drawn on the floor that I woke up in last night. So, please, if you don’t want to tell me since I know I’m a complete stranger and definitely don’t deserve anything after you helped me last night, I understand. The suspense will eat at my soul but I know it’s awkward asking about a top secret kind of secret. It’s one of those right?” I fiddled with my fingers during my little ramble. I hate confrontations. Especially when it’s me doing the confronting. “S-sorry. I’m being nosy again. I’ll um… I’m gonna call my boss.” I quickly grabbed my phone and left the room only stopping to glance back at him with a creased brow and not a shred of happiness falling on his lips. 

“Hey, Stefan! Wait…” I complied as he jogged over to me already halfway down the hall. “Why’d you call Cordelia… Cordy?” I almost burst out laughing because of how confused his eyebrows were. 

“Cordelia’s name is really hard to pronounce. So I’m going to continue to call her such until she… stops me?” I shrugged awkwardly. This conversation wasn’t going anywhere so I trudged away with my phone in hand, trying to take a breath. I slipped into one of the empty rooms and walked over to a mirror. 

The reflection in it was someone I didn’t recognize. Why did nobody tell me my shirt looked like someone tried to torture me? At least it wasn’t my favourite shirt. I yawned wide and ran my hand over my face. The mark Angel had told me about was still there on my forehead. I attempted to just rub it out of my skin in hopes it’d be like ink from a pen. However, when I stopped rubbing at it, the tips of my fingers started to turn black. I held my breath. They stopped. Tears were brimming in my eyes. “Shit.” It was real wasn’t it?

The confusion and trauma suddenly caught up to my brain. I couldn’t breathe. Everything that happened last night. Oh my god. Those crazy people who looked like they were going to eat my face off. The whole torturous pain cruising through my chest and my hands straight up turning black right before my eyes. People wanted to kidnap me. What the hell is fucking going on? When did normal start to seem impossible? I hugged my arms against my ribs as I closed the door to the bathroom I stumbled into. The only thing I could comprehend was that I somehow was still alive after almost getting possessed by something evil that wanted to claw out of my chest. And I didn’t even know for sure that’s what the hell happened. I shrunk down against the door and pulled my knees to my chest. 

A loud sob erupted from my mouth in between silent sighs and tears. I clasped my mouth shut hoping to whatever that nobody heard me. This was embarrassing. “Pull yourself together, Stefan Mich DeClave. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” I took a deep breath and shakily released it with a few more tears. I practiced closing my fists and opening them over and over again until they felt like my own again. Shaking them every once in a while to get the blood flowing through. Everything was so surreal. 

“Stefan?” Cordelia knocked on the door. I jumped back with my phone dropping to the floor from in between my legs. “Are you okay?” She asked with sincerity. 

I fumbled with my words inside my head. “Uh, yeah. I guess I-I just needed to take a breath.” She can hear right through your bullshit. “No… actually. I’m not okay in the slightest.” I heard her snicker behind the door. 

“May I come in?” I moved away from the door and turned my back slightly still hugging my arms. 

“S-Sure.” The doorknob twisted with a squeak. The sound reminded me of nails on a chalkboard. Unpleasant in every possible way. 

“Hey.” She gave me a small smile with her eyebrows furrowed with concern. “I’m sorry we haven’t been very forthcoming with info about your situation.” I scoffed and just hugged myself harder. I wanted to disappear inside myself. 

“I don’t b-blame you though. This shit is fucked up compared to anything else I’ve experienced. And I’ve had a freaking kidney stolen in the middle of the night. Not really, it wasn’t stolen. But still. I just don’t know if I can h-handle this world you guys seem to be stuck in. I fucking can’t handle knowing de-“ I had to take a break. I was gonna pull out all my hair if I kept at this stupid topic. My hands were shaking so hard. 

“Demons?” I stared at her intently. It wasn’t supposed to be in a menacing manner but even I could feel the sudden drop in temperature as everything seemed to crumple down. “Oh.” 

“God fucking… fuck.” Tears were flowing again. A bit more aggressive this time around. The shaking didn’t stop either. “Why did it have to be me? Out of all the fucking people in this godforsaken city, it had the be the guy no one would miss?!” I screamed. There had to be someone. The sobs ripped through my chest causing me to involuntarily fall to my hands and knees. I hate breaking down with company. Usually I can keep my composure. But this time, it was just too much. “I’m sorry. Y-you shouldn’t have to listen to this. I’m sorry.” I turned to her and took her hand unexpectedly between mine. “This isn’t what I want. I just want to be a normal guy again.” 

“I didn’t take you for a dramatic. But I get it. Trust me, I’m from Sunnydale. There’s a hellmouth sitting underneath the school I went to. And an entire nest of undead waiting until night to take their food. I’d want to be normal again if I could.” The sickening dread in my heart sprouted into straight up panic. There wasn’t any hope for this situation. It’s too late to turn back. I basically sold my soul as soon as I got in Angel’s fucking car. “But that isn’t the worst kind of life to live in my experience. I hate to say it but, you really do get used to it, eventually. I was almost eaten by a vampire within my first month in Los Angeles. Had I not picked up on the signs, I might not have survived.” I sniffed and wiped at my eyes. Everything hurt. 

“Thanks for that. Wait... there’s vampires too?!” I spoke before releasing her hands. The shaking still hasn’t stopped but at least I wasn’t sobbing anymore. 

“No problem. And yes. As much as I hate to say, vampires exist. ” She squeezed my shoulder tenderly between her fingers and thumb. Reassurance that everything was going to be okay. Then she walked off with a breathy laugh. 

“You guys still haven’t told me what’s going on though.” She chuckled lightly before walking out.


	3. Chapter 3

“Mr. DeClave, I don’t think you want to know. At least not right now, you don’t.” My entire world was shattering and nobody would tell me why. It was infuriating. I reached out and grabbed her hand before she could walk down the hall and forget about our conversation.

“Why wouldn’t I want to know what’s going on in my life?” I released her hand gently. A shuddering sigh replaced my breathing for a second. Her eyes were sympathetic.

I knew she wasn’t going to say anything because there was another time for this but I couldn’t help the endless need to know what the hell I had gotten myself into. She didn’t answer me even though I could tell she wanted to tell me something. Probably something like everything is gonna be okay, or it’s all under control. But she probably didn’t want to lie to me. 

The door to the bathroom closed behind her. I sighed and sunk back down to the floor. 

A few hours after my panic attack in the bathroom, there was a bit of commotion in the lobby. I was still huddled up in the room they gave me to stay in when the ruckus started. At first I thought it was because they finally ordered food and it arrived but I was wrong. 

The British guy appeared in my doorway. “Mr. DeClave? I’m afraid your situation just became more complicated.” I almost choked on my spit. 

“A-Alright. I’ll be down in a sec.” Instead of grabbing my coat or hastily putting on my shoes, I followed him down the stairs into the lobby where Angel and Cordelia were pacing. Oh please let this be a massive joke. “Okay. What’s going on?” 

Angel swiftly turned in my direction with his arms crossed with his forehead creased. “This is the third one we’ve gotten.” He pulled a letter out from what I assumed to be his armpit. “It says that you’re not safe from this demon that wanted to escape the underworld through your body. They said that you’re not the only person to be considered and targeted in the last letter which was how we found you in the first place. Apparently those people from last night are disciples of this race of demon that can only escape the underworld by using a vessel, which is usually a human. I don’t know how they’re choosing the vessels but if we can figure out something you and Ms. Honds had in common, it could narrow the search down and we can help those targeted.” I swallowed before gritting my jaw and propping myself on a door frame to keep myself from falling over. 

“I-I’m not safe? What does that mean?” They all glanced worryingly at me. “What does it say exactly?” I pleaded. Angel shifted on his feet before reluctantly handing me the latter. I unfolded it and quietly read it to myself. 

Dear Angel Investigations,  
Did you think I’d let you get away with that stunt so easily? Did you think just because you put a binding curse on Stefan DeClave that it’d be safe from my masters’ wrath? What made you think I would allow a precious vessel like Mr. DeClave go on with its life? It’s not that easy to get rid of my masters’ curse. Maybe you should think next time you find another vessel. But this time you’ll only be able to watch one vessel be corrupted. Eleven others will become vessels. Roxanne Yudoncy from New York will be waiting for you exactly where you found it. You’ll never find the other ten in time. Conducting another binding spell will result in the vessel’s immediate death.   
-H. Sin

H. Sin? My hands began to shake again. More violently this time around. The words from the letter seemed to smudge like wet ink. But then I realized the ink was running off the paper into the skin on my finger tips. Like it was trying to infect me. Just as a black line was about to connect with the skin on my finger, I pulled away and dropped the paper with a gasp. I pulled away too slowly though. A singular black dot stared back at me as it began to spread. “Shit!” I screamed. 

“Stefan, what’s happening?” The British guy asked obviously concerned. The black dot engulfed my entire finger before I could blink and after a closed my eyes and willed it to leave me alone, it was halfway down my wrist. “Angel, get the amulet!” What amulet?!

I dropped to my knees as the same sensation from last night erupted inside my chest. I watched in horror as my nails grew long and thick. My elbows were scraping against the floor when Angel returned amulet in hand. “How’s that going to help me?” I whispered to myself. He pulled me up and put it right over my head. At first I didn’t notice anything different. That was until my anger from earlier ceased to explode like before. I took a deep breath and peered into Angel’s sparkling eyes. I tried to stop the ink from spreading to more skin by blocking it’s path with my arm but it only seemed to spread onto that skin as well. 

The pain subsided after what seemed like forever. The ink that covered my hands and wrists remained after I gained the composure I needed. Angel was still crouched down at my level as I looked up and locked eyes with him. His brow creased unexpectedly and I could see the fear in his iris. 

“Wesley, was it supposed to do this?” He asked in a concerned tone. I held my breath. What could he mean? 

“The amulet was to protect the mortal soul. I don’t think it was made to protect the physical form too.” That’s what his name was. I was too scared to think about what could’ve happened to my ‘physical form’.


	4. Chapter 4

“What does that mean?! Why do you keep doing that? Just fucking tell me what’s wrong!” This was getting out of hand. I hated suspense. Especially my own. 

“Stefan, please. You don’t need to see yourself like this. We’ll fix it. Just calm down.” See myself like what?! I couldn’t take it anymore. I abruptly got to my feet feeling an extra spring in my step and ran to the nearest mirror. Angel came barreling after me. 

“Why can’t you all just leave me alone if you aren’t going to tell me anything?!” Funny enough, I didn’t actually want to be alone. I just didn’t want to be in these guys’ presence since all they ever did was keep things involving me to themselves. There was something seriously wrong with everything going on and I could stand taking another second of ignorance. 

“Wait… Stefan, wait!” He called after me. I swiftly managed to poke my head into the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror before I immediately collapsed under the weight of Angel. “Jesus. We can talk about this. There are things you just wouldn’t understand.” 

I wasn’t hearing it. There was no need to keep secrets about my situation. Even if I wouldn’t understand. “You think I don’t understand this fucked up world you all live in? Of course I don’t! But that doesn’t mean I don’t need to know certain things. Even if I don’t believe you at first. Why can’t you just fucking tell me what’s going on?” He was pinning my hands to the floor and holding my legs down with his. If I wasn’t so pissed off at his dumb ass, I would’ve definitely enjoyed the feeling of him on top of me. As sick as I was to think about it. “Please get off of me.” I commanded in a serious tone. 

Angel gently released me from his grip and when I sat up with him, I caught a glimpse of my hands. They were no longer black. What the hell is happening to me? “I’m sorry.” In that moment, I heard a thousand variations of him saying that. Like he’s said it repeatedly for thousands of years. But to himself inside his head. The weight that hung uncomfortably from those words sent a shiver down my spine. 

I didn’t reply as I stood up. I didn’t have anything to say in response to his apology. My feet began to move forward. 

“You’re cursed, Stefan.” I stopped dramatically and turned to face him. “That’s really the simplest way I can put it. This H. Sin person wants your soul and body for something that could potentially destroy the world as you know it.” He looked down at my feet as he continued speaking. “What you just read was the third letter we’ve gotten that has allowed us to save one person on this seemingly random list of potential “vessels” as he called them. Your name was given in the last letter. I know it’s going to be hard for you to understand…” he paused and flicked his eyes up to meet mine, “… but there’s too much we just don’t know.” 

I fiddled with my fingers as he stepped closer. My head was turned down so that I could clearly see the amulet that hung heavily around my neck. I grimaced when his hands lightly squeezed my shoulders. “Do you have to deal with shit like this all the time?” My grimace became a small smile as I looked up at him. 

“Every minute of every day, yeah.” Angel’s eyes glossed over with what appeared to be what I could only describe as utter hopelessness. “I should help the team locate Ms. Yudoncy before something bad happens to her. We weren’t so lucky the first time searching for the person named in the first letter. It was a miracle we got to you in time.” I held my breath. He let go of my shoulders. I saw the corner of his mouth turn up in a small smile. As he turned to walk away, the slight tingly sensation left behind from his fingers burned a hole through my chest. Holy shit. 

“H-hey! Wait.” I followed after him down the stairs to the lobby. “Can I come with you?” 

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Stefan. We don’t know what we’re up against. We also won’t be able to focus on rescuing the girl while needing to look after you.” Wesley explained. I nodded in response. I hated being alone in someone else’s home. But since where they were headed was much more dangerous than anything I had experienced, I couldn’t argue. “Stay here. Don’t touch the almond milk.” He said in all seriousness. 

“I got it.” She must really like that almond milk. I forced a smile on my face as I waved their heavily armed selves out the door. I made it seem like they were on their way to their first day of school. The fact of the matter was that I forgot that the situation they were putting themselves in was life-threatening. “I got this?” I whispered to the empty space separating me from the front door. 

The quiet of the hotel rang uncomfortably within my ears. Places like this usually held echoes of the past so I’m told. You could definitely sense the heaviness of the past that lingered within the walls. Being alone in here felt like a thousand frozen eyes were staring right through me. I carefully made my way back up the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

I had fallen asleep despite trying my best to stay awake for when the gang returned from whatever. Sadly, I awoke to the sound of crying and Wesley trying very hard to sound funny. 

My head was full of static when I accidently rammed my hip into the doorframe. I held my hip as I trudged down the hall to see what was up. 

“What has three arms and four horns? A Trandisack Demon!” Wesley cheered with a bright smile. “It’s funny because Trandisack Demons are shape shifters. You don’t see what they look like unless they want you to.” He was trying so hard. It hurt my soul to see him fail at humor like that. 

“Give it a rest. She’s not going to laugh, Wesley. Your humor doesn’t make sense to anyone else but you.” I chuckled to myself. Cordelia had a way with words. 

“That joke made the entire watcher academy roar with laughter. It’s the funniest thing I could think of.” 

“Yeah. The academy loved it. But that’s because they trained to know what a Trand-hoopy-doopy Demon is. I’ll show you what’s funny.” I made it down the last step just as Angel rushed through the front doors with a blood covered axe and the fear of god present within his eyes. “Bananas.” The crying stopped and was replaced with chuckling from Angel and the crying person. 

“It’s Trandisack Demon, Cordelia.” You could hear just how done he was. 

When I turned the corner, I spotted Wesley and Cordelia standing around someone sitting down. The closer I got, the more sick to my stomach I became. “Hey. Are you Roxanne?” I asked with a dry tongue. 

Wesley turned around to face me. He carefully wrapped an arm around me and escorted me away. “Stefan, I’m going to take you upstairs before you scare the child.” Oh shit. 

“Why? Is she okay? Am I okay?” He just glared at me before sitting me down on the last step. “Wesley… what’s wrong?” 

“I’m afraid some of the effects from the demon has stayed with you. Your eyes are crimson and black. Just stay here.” I nodded in understanding. I forgot I didn’t get a good look at myself earlier. Then my cheeks flushed red as I remembered the reason why. Oh my god, you’re so fucking gay. I screamed to myself. 

“Is that Roxanne?” I asked him. My head was begging the answer to be a no. But I knew in my heart that she was indeed Roxanne Yudoncy. No older than seven by the looks of her. 

“Yes. And no. She’s named after her mother who passed away several years back. We caught two of the worshipers pretending to be housemaids. Angel tried to snap them out of it like he did with you but it didn’t work. Maybe there’s something different with you that doesn’t or hasn’t affected them.” Fuck. 

“I think I know exactly why it didn’t work.” His eyes lit up in response. 

“Really? What do you think it was?” Gay. I was internally smashing my head against a wall. Wesley looked way more excited than I had anticipated. 

“I…,” I bit my lip. “I’m… gay.” His brow ruffled in confusion. 

“I don’t understand how that has anything to do with…” then it hit him, “oh. Oh. Stefan, do you like Angel?” Oh god, yes. I slowly nodded my head. Angel was thankfully out of eavesdropping distance. But I was still paranoid he could have heard my confession. “Well that explains a whole lot actually. You see, I was beginning to wonder why you weren’t suddenly consumed by the demon. But now it makes sense.” 

“W-what makes sense?” 

“Your infatuation with Angel may have saved your life.” Your kidding. I sighed out loud. But something didn’t quite make sense. 

“So I’m not being a creep, I’m just trying to save my own ass?” 

“Oh no. I would think your interest in Angel is completely genuine. He has that sort of affect on people.” I was glad to know I wasn’t the only one. “Oh look! Your eyes are back to normal!” He smiled while pointing at my face. I slapped my cheek with relief. 

“Glad to know I’m not the only one.” I could’ve sworn I saw Angel smile to himself by the desk. My cheeks flushed a deep red. I really hoped he hadn’t heard what I said. Living in this world full of supernatural creatures was going to be a challenge. Wesley and Cordelia did say that Angel had a secret. Maybe his secret is him being a super hot siren or succubus. Or is a succubus only female. Maybe he is a female and just trying to feel normal. Oh my god, stop. 

Wesley patted my shoulder and walked over to Cordelia and Roxanne who wasn’t crying anymore. It still freaked me out that these demons feel okay taking a child’s soul and possessing the body. The fact that they were willing to commit a heinous crime was enough to tell me, I wouldn’t like this reality I’ve been pulled into. Children were pure and nobody should have the power to corrupt a pure soul.

“Stefan?” I jumped a little. Zoning out like that is going to get me killed one of these days. “Oh sorry. I just came over to see if you were okay.” I blinked a few times before replying to him.

“Uh yeah… yeah of course. I okay.” I spotted a drop of blood hurtle to the floor from his fingers underneath the sleeve of his leather coat. “Are you okay?” I gestured to his arm.

“Oh, yeah. That’s nothing. Everything’s okay with me. Don’t worry.” So, does he not feel pain? Or is he just used to it? I didn’t really like either of those options. One of them added to my succubus theory and the other was downright sad. “Um, have you eaten?” 

“It hasn’t even occurred to me how hungry I am. No, I haven’t eaten anything.” A smile protruded into his cheeks. It made my heart skip a beat. 

“Come on. I’ll fix you a sandwich or something.” I quickly pushed myself up from my spot on the steps and followed him into the kitchen area. This all seemed so surreal. I was probably older than this dork and he was making a sandwich for me like a mother would for her child. 

“Thank you, by the way. For being kind.” You didn’t get much of that in LA. It was rare occurrence to meet someone willing to help. Especially how much these guys have helped me already. I needed to pay them back somehow. “If I’m going to be staying here for a while, do you think I should pay rent?” His back grew ridged as he pulled a loaf of bread and some ham from the fridge. 

“I don’t really… If it’ll make you feel better, Cordelia usually takes care of payments and expenses for clients and other things. I’m not that good with money.” Heshumbletoo. I didn’t think my heart could take much more swooning. This man, was too fucking perfect for his own good. But if he’s not good with money, how the hell has he been able to keep this hotel in order for so long?

“How the hell have you guys been able to work from this massive hotel without being told to get out?” I wondered if he just seduced the landlord into letting him stay with a discount and that’s what his secret is. That he really is a succubus. 

“Oh… uh. It’s a long story. I’ll fill you in sometime.” Well… I guess I should respect his wishes to hide his true nature. After all, the world was kinda ending.


	6. Chapter 6

Later on that day, a sudden heaviness fell over the air making it hard to breathe and move. It felt as if someone were sitting on my chest sucking all the oxygen from my lungs and replacing it with cement. 

I heard a crash from downstairs. My feet flew out from underneath me. They carried me out of my room down the stairs to see Angel on his hands and knees, holding his chest as his brow furrowed with sweat. “Angel?” I ran over to help him get up. “You felt that too?”

“I think they just opened a portal to hell.” As soon as he said that, we heard a bloodcurdling scream from upstairs. His face went pale. “Cordy!?” He bolted upright and tried to get up but failed. I helped him up and took him to the couch. “Stefan, Cordy must have gotten a vision. I need to get up there and help her.” He got off the couch reluctantly and took off up the stairs. I wasn’t going to be able to follow him. My chest flared with the same pain from the other night. I could feel it itching underneath my skin. The demon trying to take over caused the amulet around my neck to vibrate and glow. 

Before I could even comprehend the situation, someone burst through the door. When I looked up to see who it was, I almost freaked out. “Angel! Have you seen Angel, sugar?” I blinked twice before opening my mouth. 

“Y-you’re green.” It was all that would come out. 

“And you’re white. Where’s Angel?” I felt sick to my stomach. 

“He-he’s upstairs looking after Cordelia.” 

“Ah. She have another vision?”

“I think? I don’t know what’s going on.” He tapped his shoe and fiddled with the yellow jacket he was wearing. I had to say, wearing the designated McDonalds colours was a bold move. Now that I got a good look at him, he was pulling it off like no tomorrow. 

“Well thanks anyway. Toodles.” He waved at me and walked up the stairs. “Angel!” What the fuck just happened. Who was that? What was that?! I was so confused. He had horns and blood red eyes. Was that a fucking demon? 

An overwhelming need to investigate the scene upstairs consumed my entire being. Even though I couldn’t exactly move correctly, my off balance feet quickly scurried up the stairs. A feeling inside my brain told me that Angel and the green demon guy were in a room towards the middle of the hall. Focusing on that feeling caused the ache in my chest to blossom further then I would’ve expected. I held onto the wall, brushing my fingertips against the old wallpaper as I wobbled past. 

Luckily for me, Angel burst out of one of the rooms with the green demon guy standing concerned in the doorway he just came from. “Is everything okay?” 

He glared at me before softening his brow. “No. It’s not. Cordy envisioned three different people who were going to become vessels and I have to get to them before they’re consumed. Also, that’s Lorne.” He pointed at the green guy before leaving me dumbfounded in the hallway. 

“Hiya-gain.” He smiled at me. “Just so you know, that amulet around your neck won’t be much help in the next four hours or so.” 

“W-why’s that?” 

“Honey, if you haven’t noticed,” he dramatically waved his hands around to give more emphasis to his words, “all the magic is being sucked out of the air.” 

“What does that mean?” 

“Why, every spell or magical being is being destroyed of course.” He answered perplexed as to why I asked. “Don’t you know about this stuff?” 

“I-I don’t know. It’s been one heck of few days.” 

“No wonder you looked at me like I had an elephant for a head. I just thought since there’s a demon inside ya, someone would’ve filled you in.” I wish. Getting information from those three was like pulling teeth. “Also, if you’re interested in Angel,” he paused, “he’s too old for you.” 

“H-he’s like twenty-five. At the most thirty-two. He can’t be that much older than me.” Lorne chuckled to himself. 

“Try two hundred, sugar.” That’s impossible. Unless he is a fucking succubus. My heart was doing backflips. 

“But that’s… he’s two hundred years old?” It kinda made sense. The amount of weight I could hear when he apologized to me made sense. I was still dumbfounded. 

“Yeah.” He nodded his head. “Oh! Before I forget, could you help me with Cordy? Get some ice. Maybe some tea?” Adrenaline shot through my veins and I could feel control come back to my fingertips. “Tea’s in the fridge.” I nodded and headed down stairs once again. 

I whizzed past the counter and stopped in front of the fridge. I grasped the cool handle for the first time and tugged gently making sure nothing on the shelves would fall. The cold air rushed into the lobby and I found myself holding my breath. 

I grasped one of the many containers with a dark liquid in it. I opened the lid and recoiled my hand when I smelled the contents. Blood? Why would they need blood? I hastily put the lid back on and searched the shelf for the tea. An equally dark liquid sloshed around in one of the containers. But it didn’t have the same consistency. I picked it up and pried the lid off. Definitely tea. I didn’t know where they kept the mugs or whatever but I found a tray out on the counter. I opened the freezer and shoveled a few handfuls of ice into a bowl I found with a rag to hold it in. Wait… vampires drink blood. The hairs on my arms suddenly stood up as I felt someone approach from behind me. I quickly turned around. 

“Woah! Hey. Don’t do that!” Angel was staring at me. “I thought you left already.” He stalked closer to me. I continued putting things on the tray that I thought Cordelia would want or need. 

“Well, I did. But then it occurred to me that I didn’t need to stop the world from ending if I didn’t want to.” What? Something wasn’t right. It was like there was something wrong with his voice. It seemed more… dead. Oh shit. “Your heart’s racing. It couldn’t be because of that secret of yours, now could it?” 

“I-I don’t know what you mean.” What the fuck is happening? “I’m gonna take this Cordelia. Could you move, please?” I asked while looking him in the eye. My legs began to wobble again. But only slightly. 

“Sure.” He moved before grabbing my arm which caused the tray to rock and spill a bit of ice. “I know you’re scared of me. Tell the others about me, and I’ll bite your throat out.” As soon as I gulped, he quickly let go of my arm and surprised me by wrapping his fingers gently around my neck. “Don’t think I won’t just because I saved you.” He whispered. Shivers ran up my spine. 

“No problem. Just tell me one thing. You’re a vampire, right?” His lips creepily turned up in a smirk as he let go of my neck. “I’ll take that as a yes.” I quietly commented to myself. 

“Very perceptive.” I turned away from him and walked as fast as I could to the stairs. “Careful, now. You shouldn’t be running around in this state.” He chuckled before literally disappearing when I blinked. I frantically looked around trying to find him. When I didn’t spot him, I carefully made my way up the stairs refraining from hyperventilating. 

When I entered the room, Lorne was cradling Cordelia’s head in his lap, softly singing I’m Holding Out For A Hero. My hands shook as I placed the tray on the ground beside them. “I uh… I couldn’t find any mugs.” It felt like he was watching my every move. Even though I knew he wasn’t there.


End file.
